The World Is Cruel for SteelBlastBee
by markelsparks
Summary: Oneshot. Ed meets this world's Winry, but has a hard time dealing with the fact that this person is not the one he truly care's about. "It was cruel, to be faced with a person he knew he would never see again. Truly, this hell of a world was the price he had to pay."
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, Edward. That new girl that Gracia hired started working today. We should go down and meet her before we head off."

Ed was sitting in the armchair with his feet up on the coffee table (Alfons had given up on asking him not to). He didn't look up from the book he was reading as he responded. "Mm, I guess so."

Alfons always seemed overly excited and eager to introduce Ed to a new girl, hoping that he would take interest in her and she would pull him away from his crazy world of solitude. Unfortunately for him, Ed had no interest. At all. The less he got attached to anything in this world, the easier it would be for him to leave.

When he could.

Alfons let out a light good-natured laugh. "Oh, c'mon Edward. Don't be so antisocial. Besides, if she's going to be working here, I'm sure we'll be seeing her a lot so you'll have to meet her sooner or later."

Ed really couldn't deny that he was antisocial, but his reasons were far from what Alfons believed. He made a groan of protest as Alfons dragged him from his seat, forcing him to put his book down. Once Alfons made up his mind about something, there was no dissuading him. He led Ed out the apartment with excitement: he always did enjoy meeting new people.

As they made their way around to the front of the shop, they saw a girl with long blond hair chatting with Gracia and arranging flowers. Gracia noticed them approaching and greeted them with a smile. "Oh, what a coincidence. I was just talking about the two of you. Winry, this is Edward and Alfons."

Just the name was enough to make Ed flinch, but when "Winry" turned around, he couldn't do much more than just stare. As she introduced herself, Ed was oblivious that she was offering her hand until Alfons jabbed him in the side with a smirk. Clearing his throat, he extended his hand. "H-hey, I'm Edward."

She shakes his hand enthusiastically. "It's nice to meet you!"

He gives her a tight grin and a nod of his head in response.

A moment after she grabbed his hand, she looked down at it with a confused expression. Before she had a chance to say anything else, Ed decided to cut in. "It's a prosthetic."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it! I jus-"  
He waves his hand in dismissal with a strange half-smile. "It's fine, I'm used to it."

Winry shiftef, obviously looking uncomfortable, unsure if she had brought up a sensitive subject, and Ed didn't seem to have anything else to say, so Alfons stepped in. "Don't worry, he seems intimidating, but he's pretty harmless."

Ed gave him a warning look. "Usually."

Gracia and Alfons both gave a good-humored laugh, and Winry couldn't suppress a chuckle herself. "Alright, well Edward and I should be heading off to work. It was nice to meet you, and I'm sure we'll be seeing you around."

* * *

After they were well out of hearing range, Alfons nudged Ed playfully in the side. "So, what was that all about?"  
Ed shoots him a look. "What was what about?"

"Oh, c'mon, Edward. You were just standing there staring at her. You can't tell me it was nothing."

"What, I'm not allowed to look at people?"

Alfons swiftly changed his words around. "So, you think she's pretty?"

Ed stopped walking, spluttering. "What?! Where the hell did you get that from?!"

"Hahaha! C'mon, Edward. I've never seen you look at a girl like that the whole time I've known you."

"I probably gave you a similar look when I met you, if you don't remember."

A teasing grin made its way onto Alfons' face. "What, so you think I'm pretty too?"

His face turned a deep red. "W-what the-! Fuck off, Alfons!"

Alfons let out a loud laugh as he walked to work alongside a grumbling Ed.

Whenever Alfons would make a crack at how Ed was always looking at Winry, Ed would brush it off as Alfons making things up. To be fair, he did look at her quite often, or at least compared to anyone else. In fact, Ed almost never took any time to take even a second glance at anyone he met, especially girls. If anything he tended to avoid them, or at least push them away with a look telling them he wasn't interested in the slightest.

* * *

Every morning while Alfons got ready for work (Ed was always up much earlier and was ready by the time he woke up) Ed would be sitting by the window, looking down at the flower shop, watching the blonde girl happily greet customers.

"Why don't you just say something to her? You're obviously attracted to her."

Ed nearly jumped out of his skin. _When did Alfons sneak up behind me? Was I really that lost in thought?_ He let out a sigh, really not in the mood to go over this again. "Alfons, I told you. I'm not attracted to her. Hell, I barely even know her."

"But you keep looking at her. She smiles at you all the time too, you know. Although you always seem to look away whenever she does."

Sighing again, he turns back to the window. "Alfons, it's not what you think."

"Ok, then talk to me. You always leave me to guess what's on your mind." _And anyone who can guess that. . ._

Ed stays quiet for a moment, facing out the window with a distant look in his eyes and a ghost of a smile. Alfons was all too familiar with this look. And suddenly he wished he never asked. "She reminds you of someone." It wasn't even a question.

Ed caught the almost agitated tone of his flat mate's voice. Alfons may have been good at hiding his emotion, but Ed was always able to pick up on the subtleties. When he spoke, Ed's voice was as distant as his look. "My mechanic. And childhood friend. . . I never thought I'd see her here."

"Well, you should get to know her. You wanted nothing to do with me at first because I'm not your brother, and now you're living with me." Usually that was a very touchy subject for Alfons, but if bringing it up would do Ed some good, then he'd suck it up. "Just because she looks like someone you know, doesn't mean you have to avoid them."

Ed just sighs, voice quiet. "It's more complicated than that, Alfons..."

They were both quiet for a moment, before Alfons spoke up hesitantly. "She was more than just a friend, wasn't she? Is that why you never take interest in any other girls?"

The tone in Ed's voice changes to one Alfons usually only hears when he's drunk. Regret. "No, she was just a friend. I never had the chance to tell her…" He lets out a low sarcastic laugh. "Guess I'll never have the chance either."

"You know, she may not be quite the same, but-"

"Don't even go there." His tone was sharp. "The only thing that's the same is her name and face. I don't know her and I don't want to. She doesn't have a fuckin' clue about prosthetics. The Winry I know, she grafted the damn stuff to my skin. She was always going on about it, too. She'd get so excited about it. Didn't matter if anyone cared or not, she'd talk you're friggin ear off about the stuff. She honestly thought automail was the greatest thing in the world…"

"Edward. . ."

"Look, I don't care if she's a nice person or whatever. I don't want to get to know her. I don't want new memories of Winry that don't suit her."

Alfons let out an annoyed huff. "This is why you don't have any friends. Just because someone remind you of someone else, doesn't mean you have to avoid them."  
Ed finally turns away from the window to give Alfons an intense glare. "It's not just minor similarities like you think, Alfons! It's not as easy as it seems! It's hard enough living with someone who looks so much like my brother and barely has a clue who I am!"

Alfons flinched. Ed hadn't brought that up for a while, he thought he was over it. Apparently not. "Well maybe it has something to do with the fact that you never tell me anything about yourself!"

"I shouldn't need to! You should _know_!"

If Ed said another word, Alfons wasn't sure if he could hold back from hitting him. He honestly thought that Ed accepted him for who he was now. Apparently he just put up with him. That was not how it was supposed to work. When he spoke, his voice was low and dangerous. "I shouldn't have to _know _anything about you. Because I'm _not_ your _brother_."

Ed's response was just as cold. "No, you sure as hell aren't." He pushed up from the chair forcefully, knocking back against the wall with a loud thud. Grabbing his jacket from the coatrack, he slammed the door on his way out into the brisk afternoon air. As he stomped down the stairs, Winry called out to him, obviously worried. "Ed, is everything ok?"

He glanced over at her, regretting it as soon as he did. The look on her face, that one of worry that Winry always wore when she saw the aftermath of fights Ed got in, it was enough to make him wish he just ignored her. Without saying anything to her, he tears his gaze away from her face and trudged off into the cooling night.

It was cruel, to be faced with a person he knew he would never see again.

Truly, this hell of a world was the price he had to pay.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: It was originally just going to be a oneshot, but it was supposed to contain more EdWin and then Alfons kinda took over. So here's another chapter in attempts to redeem myself. And because I got a few requests to. I really enjoyed writing the first half, but ending it was a struggle with not letting Alfons take over again :/. I should just give him his own story so he'll stop sneaking in and taking the spotlight.

* * *

"Jeez, Edward! How do you always manage to ruin my automail?! You _know_ that I give you the best of the best so that you _don't_ wreck it, but here you are _again_-"

"Winry, c'mon! It's not even ruined, it's just a small dent in the front plate."

"Yea, well I don't want people to see you and think that I would allow my husband to walk around with dented automail." She gives him a stern look as she puts the leg she just took off on her workbench.

Ed just chuckles at her grumpiness. "I think you mean fiancé."

"Whatever. I already feel like I've been married to you for years." Her back was turned as she fished around for the replacement part she was looking for.

He couldn't hold back a smirk. "You really do take your work too seriously."

"I have a reputation to uphold. And you're not helping it, Ed. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if you do it on purpose."

He grabbed the crutches she left next his chair and skillfully made his way to sit next to her at her bench. He draped an arm around her shoulders as he leaned over to watch her face as she undid some of the screws. "Well, you know I love to watch you work."

She didn't look up from what she was doing when she responded. "And you know I can't work with you breathing down my neck."

A mischievous smirk made its way onto his face. "You didn't seem to mind it last night."

She finally looked up at him with a blush on her cheeks, although she tried to cover it with a pathetically attempted glare. "Shut up, Ed!"

He found himself laughing as she pushed him off her, grumbling something incoherent, clearly flustered.

He never could help himself from teasing her. Her reactions were always priceless.

He made himself comfortable, crossing his arms on the edge of the table as he watched her work. Honestly, he wasn't sure how he dented it, but it wasn't even that noticeable. Winry, of course, noticed it before he did.

It didn't take her long to replace the front plate of the leg, thankfully to her. Since Al's body was restored, he and Ed seemed to be staying out of trouble that would result in all-nighters building automail from scratch. Part of it was due to that they officially moved back to Resembool into the Rockbell house, and the other part was no doubt because Ed resigned from the military.

She only accepted his proposal once she saw his resignation papers with her own two eyes.

"Alright, done. Let's get your leg reattached. And hopefully keep it that way."

"Yea, yea." Instead of using the crutches, he slung an arm around Winry's shoulders as he limped back over to the patient chair. As soon as he sat down, he slung an arm around her waist, pulling her off balance and onto his lap.

Ed let out a laugh at the yelp she gave as he dragged her backwards. She was about to say something to him when he silenced her with a kiss.

It would have lasted longer than a few seconds if they hadn't heard Al giggling from the doorway. "Did I come in at a bad time?"

Winry's whole face turned red and she made a move to get off Ed's lap. Unfortunately for her he still had an arm draped tightly around her.

Ed rolled his eyes in mild annoyance. "Al, how many times have I told you, wait until she's done with maintenance. It's doesn't take that long."

His response was a snarky grin. "Really, brother. Even if it doesn't take that long, you might want to consider a bedroom instead."

It took Ed a moment to realize what Al was twisting his words into. Face suddenly red, he turns the best he can with Winry on top of him, yelling at his brother who was scampering away with a loud laugh. "Go to hell, Al!"

* * *

They were lying in bed, Winry's head tucked under his chin, his flesh arm draped over her waist. She had fallen asleep a while ago, but Ed stayed awake. It wasn't unusual for him though. He enjoyed watching Winry sleep, even if it wasn't exactly the most eventful thing in the world. She was usually so riled up throughout the day (although he was often the cause), so it was nice to see her so relaxed. Who would have thought that she of all people could actually look harmless? He brushed some stray hairs from her face, causing her to stir with a small sigh. Sometimes he could have sworn that sleeping Winry was a completely different person than she was when she was awake. After a while or laying there listening to her soft breathing, he kissed her lightly on the head before drifting off himself.

* * *

A ray of sun shined in through the blinds, causing Ed to roll over with a grumble. As he did, something in the back of his mind was nagging him; something wasn't right. He chose to ignore it for now, preferring to go back to sleep, though the nagging thought didn't go away. Suddenly, he realized there was nobody next to him. Why was Winry up so early? He cracked an eye to see if she was still in their room, and that was all it took to wake him up fully. Ed shot up, looking around, his sleep-muddled mind struggling to comprehend where he was. This wasn't his house. He went to swing his legs out of bed to try to figure out where he was, but noticed his left wasn't attached*.

Then it hit him: he was in Germany.

And that meant Winry wasn't here.

He was stuck in this godforsaken place where he had to put up with replacements of the people he cared about and loved. He let out a loud yell, slamming his fist into the wall next to him, hard enough to dent the cheaply built structure. He stayed like that for a moment before leaning back against it, pulling his knee up to bury his face in, arm tightly around it.

Eyes shut tight, he tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill down his face. He would never get a chance to see Winry again, never get to tell her how he felt. Even if she knew, it didn't matter. He'd never get a chance to tell her himself. He'd never get to even talk to her ever again.

Ed's am tightened around his leg, trying his best to keep himself from breaking down. He woke up to dreams like this every night since he met this world's Winry, although nothing that made him feel this disheartened, this lost. He should be back in Resembool with her and Al, starting life over.

He made no move to acknowledge the bedroom door open, nor the worried voice of his flat mate. Alfons sat down on the edge of the bed next to him, not too close but not too far, knowing Ed had issues with personal space. Or at least with him in it anyways.

He'd been concerned about Ed more than usual lately. He used to always wake up to nightmares throughout the night but would still somehow have energy to get through the day. Lately though, he seemed to be sleeping soundly as ever, but he was so depressed now. At least, more than he usually was. He would often seem to be lost in thought and daydreams, a small smile gracing his lips as he lived in his own little world. But as soon as he came back to reality, he would look as miserable as ever.

Almost as soon as he sat down, Ed started talking. Unfortunately in his own unknown language. Alfons only really heard it when he was completely wasted or when he was sleeping. But even if he couldn't understand him, he could tell by his voice that Ed was a complete wreck. And the fact that he was showing it was enough to make Alfons' worry increase tenfold.

**"/Why am I still in this place? I've been here long enough, right? I paid enough, just let me go home. I can't take anymore of this. I can't take it anymore!/" His voice was barely a broken whisper when he spoke, gradually increasing volume until he was shouting, and Alfons' best guess was that he was cursing the world.

Alfons had no idea what Ed was saying or what he woke up to, but what he found most upsetting about this whole scenario was how Ed wasn't even trying to hide his distress. He wasn't sure what to do at first, and just stared. Hesitantly, he reached a hand out and put it on Ed's back. To be completely honest, he wasn't so sure Ed wouldn't lash out at him, and he knew it was far from safe to be on the receiving end of that. Ed found keeping his tears back to be impossible as soon as he felt Alfons place a hand gently on his back. He and Alfons had been bickering more frequently lately and he could tell Alfons was getting fed up with him. But here he was, trying to console him when he knew perfectly well that Ed would usually lash out at him.

Alfons almost retracted his hand back when heard a sob. _Wait, Edward doesn't cry._ That thought left his mind as soon as he heard another, which was soon followed by many more heart-wrenching sobs.

Unsure of what else to do, Alfons pulled Ed to his chest, allowing him to cry into his shoulder.

He let Edward cry, shouting incoherent pleas. He said nothing, knowing there was nothing that could be said to make things better for him, so he stayed silent, doing nothing but holding him as he was reduced to nothing more than a sniveling heap in Alfons' arms.

He spoke up only when Ed's sobs died down to quiet sniffles. "Tell me more about her. She must have been a great person."

* * *

*There was a scene in CoS where it showed Ed putting on his prosthetics (presumably in the morning) so I go by that Ed takes them off at night.

**I'm using / / for when Ed is speaking Amestrian.


End file.
